Montauk Pioneer - July 3, 2009 - Classes With Clavin

When I first met Tom Clavin in July of 2007, I didn't know what to expect from his writing workshop. At first I thought the class would be way over my head since I had not read any books recently, or written any for that matter. In fact I was somewhat "allergic" to books for a long time after graduating from Barnard. Having to cram so many books down my throat and just barely keeping up with very competitive classmates who effortlessly got As and A pluses, really turned me off reading anything. I thought attending Tom's workshop might be able to unblock whatever that was preventing me from reading real books.

My becoming a writer was purely accidental. Yes, I loved to write letters to friends and relatives but I never considered that writing. When I discovered how easy it was to compose a letter on my husband's laptop, and I found out I could erase, insert and delete words so much more easily than with my Smith Corona typewriter, I felt I had discovered the wheel. Not having to use white-out or erasers or typing in triplicate forms with carbon papers underneath was unbelievable and so much faster. Just pushing the "Print" or "Send" buttons was magic. I loved it.

That same year, I became a member of the Montauk Village Association (MVA), a non-profit organization that helps maintain the beauty of the Village of Montauk. The organization needed some publicity so I wrote up a little something about fixing the sidewalks on Main Street and sent it to the Pioneer. David Rattiner, the editor, liked it and the rest is history. After that I even started reading Tom's bestseller "Dark Noon: The Final Voyage of the Fishing Boat Pelican" and most of his books including this year's "The Last Stand Of Fox Company: A True Story of U.S. Marines in Combat."

Tom's workshop gave me the confidence I needed. I was brave enough to hand him a sample of stories I'd been working on for two years about my German Shepherd, Benji. The following week, Tom handed me a newspaper clipping from the New York Times dated July 15, 2007 with the heading "Week in Review." Tom read to the class the article "Bestseller That Woofs and Meows." The book,"Marley and Me" had been the bestseller for the past 100 weeks (now it's a movie starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson.)

Tom told me that I had picked the right subject. He said, "If you are going to write about your pet, he must be something extraordinary to catch the publisher's eye. You have to write a book proposal, include marketing strategies and do your homework. If you are writing about animals, read animal bestsellers, find out who their publishers are and get in touch with them."

"Just watch your punctuation, spelling and verb tenses" he said. Tom, once an editor, confessed that "editors are usually anal retentive, compulsive people that get upset if there is a misspelled word, bad punctuation or a wrong verb tense." From then on, I made sure all my "t's" were crossed and "i's" dotted.

One thing about Tom is that he is very blunt and to-the-point in a very diplomatic way. He does not beat around the bush and I admire that in him. Many writers avoid answering personal questions but Tom encourages them. Even though Tom prefers writing non-fiction, he encourages each student to write whatever he is passionate about. "Never give up," he says, "persistence is a virtue."

"Even if you are turned down by 30 editors after sending 130 letters, make this experience positive by getting in touch with the 100 editors who did not answer you and ask them what they think of your book," he advises, "Don't take it personally. Some editors have bad days too or just didn't get around in reading your book," he explains. This actually happened to one of his students and his persistence paid off when he had his book published last year.

So to all of you budding writers, come to Tom's workshop at Fort Pond House in Montauk, every Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. starting July 1 through August 12. Beginners are welcome. Participants will be asked to read from works-in-progress, fiction, non-fiction or memoirs. The fee is $100. Space is limited. To register, call Ed Johann at 631-668-5226 or Tom Clavin at 631-604-1358 or just show up. If you have any questions, feel free to send Tom an e-mail at Hondo7@optonline.net.